Nearly All Future Buick Vehicles May Be Built Outside Of U.S.
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Following the news of General Motors toying with the idea to import the 2016 Buick Envision crossover from China to the United States, Reuters has stepped in with more details on Buick’s future assembly plans, which the publication says it has learned from suppliers.
According to the report, most Buick vehicles sold in the U.S. will be built in either China or Europe, and imported into the domestic market. The next-generation Buick LaCrosse and Buick Enclave are expected to be built in the U.S. still, however.
Buick is eying a production move of the Verano from Michigan to China in late 2016, followed by the Regal, which sources say may go to either Europe or follow the Verano to China in 2017. The Buick Encore, which is currently built in South Korea, is also expected to move to China.
The 2016 Buick Cascada convertible is already built in Europe, and will be imported to the U.S., rounding out the brand’s current production lineup.
Cindy Estrada, Vice President of the United Auto Workers GM department, voiced her concern once again with this latest news saying GM would be “tone deaf” to import vehicles from China and other markets “after sacrifices by U.S. taxpayers,” along with union concessions and a government funded bailout to create a new, profitable automaker.
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This cannot happen!!!
I TOTALLY AGREE !!
This is a direct front to the American Automobile Union and workers!!! WHY!!! One of my many personal reasons for buying GM all of these years is because of its name and what it symbolizes. We need to keep work here in America. All it is, is for “cheap labor”!! And we still are paying more for the cars. This is a bad reflection on a proud brand. Greed will kill ‘ya!
You’ve lost a customer here if you move production to China, which by the way, if you haven’t noticed…..makes pieces of crap! Don’t you realize that China is not simply a competitor – it is an ENEMY now, confronting our nation on various fronts, both economically and militarily. And as far as fair competition – forget it. Everything there is controlled by the Communist Party, and there is absolutely NO ETHICS IN CHINA.
I don’t like it, but such is the way of globalization. Most of the tooling for the auto-industry is already made in China.
Time for globalization to be given boundaries. Who will have jobs and money to buy all these imports, anyway? They wonder why so many Americans are on benefits.
Sad. Even more sad when you consider the Chinese military buildup.
“They wonder why so many Americans are on benefits.”
Perfect.
“Even more sad when you consider the Chinese military buildup.”
This is what I was getting to in that related thread from yesterday. If we are to hand away the treasury to another country, how about Greece? Or our new commie friends Cuba? Or heck — let’s make Puerto Rico our newest state and pay them to get their Buick on. All of these ideas are saner than giving China a frickin’ dime.
Get them to build them as cheap and they will win the work.
It all comes down to this. Automakers need to make products where they can make them at the most cost effective price. It matters little where that is be it China, Mexico or Detroit.
Besides who said they all would be from China. We already have had Regals from Germany.
Plants must be competitive or they don’t get the work.
Now GM can just give the work to other plants not as competitive and charge more for the cars and sell at a major disadvantage because people will opt for the cheaper car.
I hate to see anything go there but we are now competing globally not in country for work and the market has changed.
The only thing that has saved our ass so far is China can only steal and copy things They have no clue on how to engineer much. Most of what they do is no where near the original in quality. If they ever figure out how to get it right our industry is screwed when It comes to cars. As for now they are still struggling as even their own people refuse their cars. I think they had one car in the top 15 last year in sales.
I could either give $5 an hour to someone who kicks me in the teeth or $15 an hour to someone who doesn’t.
A tough decision… unless you don’t care about your teeth.
Yet so many people have no teeth!
Funny how some love to complain about the headline here but mindlessly bought Encores from Korea with no issue.
They are like the same people who buy a Kia build here but think most of the money remains here.
Maybe we can convince Americans to work for $5 an hour an live in corporate dorms to make the US competitive again?
We can’t compete in a race to the bottom. We need fair trade more than free trade.
Stephen China is collapsing right now and it will either help us or crash the world economy.
We could be entering a currency war and you may have a lot more to worry about than a Buick built in China.
Let this all work out before you cry the sky is falling. Todays market may have killed any plans even if there ever were any.
Big picture brother you have to look at the big picture. Too many plants here to compete for the work with Union BIds. It is in the UAW hands and if they make a competitive bid then they will get the work.
Also if you want to make money get a skill trades job. Welding, plumbing and other jobs where you work with your hands at a skill few have you can almost write your own ticket.
Exactly. they are our enemies and why do this? I served the US as an army officer. I see and know.
For sure China is pure evil. But yet people still shop price.
Companies who stay in this country and work hard to make things here are rewarded in two ways.
One they get the beat down on price by Walmart. Just ask Rubbermaid.
Two the public continues to shop price and while they claim to be pro buy American they continue to buy based on price. This leaves many of the American production companies hanging on to life by a thread.
Everyone wants to paint the companies as evil for going to China but our dollars spent dollars not spent are what sends them there.
Every time prices go up the unions here ask for more money and then companies have to raise prices. The fact is if you are a union member you are not going to get rich since you are part of the viscous circle of wage and prices. You will make a decent living and live ok if you are a smart spender but you will not retire to Hawaii unless you are a union leader.
Terrible news, as I have been eyeing the next generation of Buicks, and avoid buying ANYTHING made in China whenever possible (which is sadly not always possible).
I have no issue with the European Opel imports (GM has owned Opel since the early 1920’s) as there’s a long heritage and history there but if GM introduces Chinese / Asian-manufactured vehicles into its U.S. / North American offerings, I won’t be buying them. For one thing, I wouldn’t be able to identify with / relate to a Chinese-made GM product.
If Mercedes/AM general can build in the USA and export to China why can’t Buick?
Union deals. That is what keeps a car in America or not. If the union at the plant makes a reasonable deal they keep it here if not they move to other plants.
One thing to keep in mind negotiations are coming up and this is a negotiating chip with the UAW. Odds are a deal will be struck to keep most products here and in Canada.
Note the CAW has played hard ball of late and now are being left with little product. This could fill Oshawa very easily if they are willing to work with GM of which of late they have not.
Dangle some red meat in front of them and they will bite.
Watch this over the last part of this year and I think you will see it will work out they will be in North American plants for the most part. Crazy things like this are made public before negotiations with the UAW and it is all strategy.
The business case is there to import vehicles for Buick but it will be a PR nightmare in North America if they.
The UAW will be up in arms plus public and political backlash.
I agree totally. This stuff simply has to stop! We build good products here at home. And as another writer said, all of this Kia, Honda, Toyota etc., stuff is made here true, but a larger portion of the profits go right back over seas. Bring work HOME!!! Our people are hurting something awful! No wonder some find it difficult to be middle class. Look at Detroit….
It’s all NAFTA, and some models from those foreign companies are not built here. It’s far from a greed thing, but a good business move. GM has created a lot of jobs in the U.S., and I can almost guarantee that like almost everything else the media stirs up, is that it needs to be taken with a grain of salt. I can also guarantee that like pretty much everything the media stirs up, that this doesn’t give the whole story, or in this case what goes in to car production, and the contracts involved. GM builds the BUICK Encore overseas, and they wanted to bring it over here. So they imported it, instead of spending extra money, to get an assembly line prepared in the United States, to build a car, that they couldn’t at the time predict success for. You see all the other information about GM getting ready for a new model, or retooling plants for expansion,and it can get really expensive. The Envision will be imported from China, because it’s the same scenario. The Aveo was made overseas, it became kind of successful, so they rebranded it as the Sonic, redesigned it, and moved production to the U.S., I believe it’s Michigan. Models that are built here, I do not see leaving here, unless the UAW screws up on a deal. I can see where the speculation came from with the Envision being made in China and being imported. However, I believe that the writer from Reuters is wrong with this. I’m not a big fan of mainstream media, because most of the time, they don’t report what’s happening correctly, it’s either a swayed idea or opinion, or it’s not the whole picture.
Ah yes. Let’s keep paying for the modernization and build up of the Chinese Military. Because Chinese aggression in the Pacific isn’t a huge problem or anything.
I see a Ford in my future. Owned one Mercury and one Dodge, probably 20 new and 50 used GM, no more.
U.S.A. COULD BUILD CARS AND ANY THINGS BETTER THEN ANYONE IF ME COULD DUMP ALL THE WASTE INTO THE RIVERS OR STORE THEM AND HOPE THEY BLOW UP KILLING US. CEO MARY PLEASE STOP SENDING JOBS OUT OF U.S.A. THING ABOUT IT YOUR JOB COULD BE NEXT.
Whoever at GM thought this one up needs to be shown the door. I for would never by another Buick if it were built in China an why would GM ever want to contribute to China’s manufacturing strengths an take away US jobs. No Mary best come to her senses before it’s to late!!!
Dear Bernie Sanders,
Announce that as President you’ll personally tariff the daylights out of any car imported into America.
Love,
America
The trade agreement we have with China is ludicrous . I have never owned a Buick , and it looks like I never will . I even have a hard time buying a vehicle assembled in Mexico ( like my Terrain ) . Mr. Trump is right when he says ” can you hear that huge sucking sound ” . Its as if the US Government is afraid of China because they hold our 18 TRILLION dollar debt . So we give the Chinese everything they want so as not to pi$$ them off . And now GM is joining the band wagon . As an American I am SO TIRED of buying items that are built in China . Even the puters that we are using right now the components are Chinese made . Same with our iPhones .
People wonder why there is so much crime in the inner cities its mainly because the factories that used to hire folks with less than a college education are gone . When you could work for the big 3 and actually raise a family on those wages are what built the middle class . And when you don’t have a job to go too just what are these folks suppose to do . They have all this time to waste and if they see something that you may have and they want it ….!
It is also a contract year for the Big-3 , so I wonder if maybe this might be some sort of threat coming from GM . The plants that currently build Buicks will see their workforce decline and thats more money for GM . In my neck of the woods we build the Buick Enclave and its been in the news months ago that the suv would be built over seas . GM if you read these comments making such a move isn’t the best PR . Like all the comments above you are going to loose customers just so you can pay some Chinese less to make your cars . WTF !
Almost every manufacturer has some model or models that they import into the U.S. Second, this is not something I’m getting worked up to, because this seems like speculation. As production shifts, I could see, cars they import, now and in the future getting built here in the U.S. It actually doesn’t make sense to spend extra money on a new model like the Envision that hasn’t been tested with a new market yet. I don’t see the other models leaving for China. So importing first, is a smart move, if that’s the case. So what is it Europe, Asia, North America? Maybe the next rumor will be GM Brazil.
I think it’s a tactic to gain leverage over the UAW during the current negotiations.
Smart observation.
Watch what happens.
It sounds like a terrible move but this may be exactly what is going on here.
I don’t see how such poor labor laws will motivate those chinese workers to build quality cars like Buicks have been becoming. Maybe nothing will go wrong… but maybe they will build cars destined for the U.S. like the Chinese domestic market. THAT’s what I’m worried about in addition to the lost jobs. Don’t get me started on the hazardous materials found in some products shipped over here.
I want to buy American and am (was?) looking at either the new Verano or Regal, and I was going to make my wife at least look at the Envision to replace her Highlander. If they come from China, I might as well buy Japanese.
I have been a very faithful GM customer for many years. I’ve owned nothing except GM for over 40 years. If they bring in cars made in China I won’t be buying them. This may be the last straw for me. I avoid Chinese products as mush as I possibly can and cars will be no exception. I have been disappointed with the corporate GM more than a few times but always bought a USA built car. I can’t support GM if they send American production to China.
SEE!
You need to look at this speculation.
First off the only real change here from what we have had is the Verano.
The Regal was already built for 1+ years in Germany or did some of you miss that early in their production? The Convertible is going to be low volume so I really did not expect them to move it here from Germany.
I would be surprised if the Regal goes to China. I really think it and the Verano may be UAW and CAW bait.
The Envision again I see as bait for Canada at Ingersoll as they will lose the Terrain from the plant there to Springhill last I heard.
I would not over react here.
Most cars GM has imported have been Korean and that has been the cheaper and more price critical cars.
I see Germany and Canada as the big players in outside the US here.
Opel really needs the production in their plants to fill the volume.
How does it pencil out to build them overseas and ship them back compared to building them in the US? And, the consumer sentiment is to buy what is made in America? Foreign automakers build in America and GM wants to build them overseas. Go figure.
Autoline daily did it on Mexico not long ago. Said they save like one hundred dollars compared to building in the US. Probably another one hundred even with shipping building in China.
For multiple reasons. The unions have a lot to do with it. Plus when they’re already building a model such as the Envision outside of the U.S. when they haven’t released it here yet is kind of difficult to judge whether to spend extra money on assembly line preparation to build it here or not. The automotive industry whether domestic or foreign operates on bids, and with NAFTA, the bids for assembly line locations and parts suppliers are wider. Bids are probably a higher percentage for domestic automakers because of the unions, but foreign automakers still have bids somewhere down the line of production. I’m sure if the Envision came over from already being built in China, and released in the U.S. market, and was a success, they would move U.S. production here. The UAW has to win the bid also for that to happen. Success of cars like the Envision being imported, and cooperation from the UAW brings a car here for production.
There are also foreign automakers that import into the U.S., not every foreign car is made here.
Good and smart post Dane. Thanks!
Some folks here seldom consider all that has to go into a decision or all the factors a company faces. Also they fail to understand the deals with the older American UAW contracts were much more difficult and expensive than many of the deals with the new companies that have come here or if they even have a union at all.
GM has been using different models here to get the best bids they can get on new models here and it has worked well. They have too many plants but it also has helped them offer the work to the best offer from the UAW. Plants like Lordstown have learned if you work with GM you get a good line and lots of work.
And for sure many Japanese and Korean brands are still imported.
Completely agree with you both Dane and scott3